Governing value propositions in digital promotion: A practice-based perspective on brand legitimacy

The governance of value propositions in digital promotional environments remains hardly explored, particularly within trust-sensitive, semi-regulated industries where overclaiming carries immediate reputational and regulatory consequences. Existing marketing literature has predominantly treated Value Proposition Design (VPD) as a static, front-end planning instrument, failing to account for the iterative, real-time discipline required to sustain brand legitimacy across fragmented digital platforms. Drawing on a strategy-as-practice (SAP) framework and Brand Image Theory (BIT), this study investigates how entrepreneurs in the Malaysian health supplement industry internalise and enact VPD as a lived governance mechanism rather than a completed strategic canvas. A qualitative, multi-case study methodology was employed, comprising 12 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with practitioners across five organisations ranging from micro-artisanal startups to a Government-Linked Company (GLC), with data analysed thematically using NVivo 15. Three interconnected dimensions of practice-based governance were identified: the lived enactment of value through professional identity and daily sense-making routines; the 'Governing Anchor' as an internal disciplinary mechanism that regulates promotional intensity and ensures cross-platform message consistency; and relational legitimacy built through interactional credibility and 'purity routines' that translate ethical conduct into enduring consumer trust. The findings introduce the concept of integrity-market fit, proposing that sustainable brand legitimacy in semi-regulated digital markets is achieved not by maximising promotional reach but by calibrating it through a 'rule of restraint' grounded in professional ethics. This study contributes a novel theoretical framework that extends VPD beyond product-market fit, offering practitioners a model of disciplined digital conduct applicable to health supplements and other high-credibility sectors.